


Leo's Moving Castle

by blushingprince



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Eventual Romance, I don't even know what to tag this with we all know the story, M/M, Old Age, alternative universe - howl's moving castle
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-28
Updated: 2016-10-28
Packaged: 2018-08-27 14:06:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8404537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blushingprince/pseuds/blushingprince
Summary: the story of howl's moving castle told with leo as howl, niles as sophie, and nina as marklthis fic has been abandoned





	

In the country of Ingary, beneath the rolling hills, lay a small town called Market Chipping. People made their way of life there to the best of their ability. It was a strange town in a stranger land. Magic and the unknown mixing with the commonplace; people bustling about their everyday lives, going to and fro work and home. 

 

In the midst of the confusion of this life, there was a thief named Niles. He lived by any means and held up a small living space. No family, as far as we know, and few friends. He kept to himself and did his work. You could say, though, that his personality was quite….personable. Perhaps a little too much. However, he ended up with a little bit of gold in his pocket and scraps on his plate and he was able to make means. 

 

There was something more out of control than the wages entering his pocket, though. You see, the King had decided to enter a war with the neighboring kingdom, with the aid of the magicians. It was a violent, ugly fight from beginning to who knows when. Niles stayed out of things like this. Politics were not a concern of a commoner like him. Sometimes, he could see the airships pass by but he just kept going.

 

On a bright Tuesday morning, he had decided to visit his acquaintance Odin. This blonde folk worked in a smith forging necessary weaponry, and so Niles had to traverse across town.  He meandered through the short cuts he knew best, as a thief would. 

 

But as fate would have it, there was trouble in store for him. Soldiers he had grappled with in the past, making a fool of, were standing post. His face, dark and scarred, and adorning an eyepatch, was hard to miss. 

 

“Hey, hey, isn’t it that thief who did us in?”

 

“I’ll bet it is!”

 

“I think we should show him around a little,”

 

“Make him cower, as if he were a little mouse,”

 

Niles thought to himself and considered outrunning them. Visiting Odin could happen another day.

The soldiers kept talking and he got ready to dash.

 

“There you are,” trickled an unfamiliar voice.

 

Niles moved immediately to the new sound and there was a tall man in some strange coat. Very blonde, mm?

 

“I was looking for you,” the blonde man continued.

 

Did this person know him? He didn’t open his mouth quite yet. 

The soldiers grew furious, raising their batons in protest. The man raised his finger and they stopped. Suddenly, to Niles disbelief, they were walking away in a single file. 

 

Niles raised an eyebrow. Was this man a magician?

 

Before his questions could be answered, the man spoke again. “Walk with me?”

 

“Will you pay me?” 

 

The blonde man put his arm around the other’s and continued. “I’m being chased. Sorry, I have to use you like this,”

 

Niles scoffed. 

 

“Were you going somewhere? I’ll be your escort,”

 

“The smith,”

 

They walked steadfast, and soon, to Niles’ horror, he could make out liquid like black figures walking after them. 

 

The blonde man put an arm around Niles’ shoulder. He was just a bit taller. “Please trust me,”

 

What?

 

They were rising, rising, going up in the air, until Niles could see the entire city below him. 

“Kick your legs out,” the man said gently. 

 

They were walking on air. Niles could not believe it, nor the fact that this stranger was holding his hands. He continued to walk with a long stride and they walked across the sky.

 

“Very good, I’d say,” the blonde man mumbled,”

 

Before Niles knew it, this mysterious man touched him down on a balcony. “I’ll leave you here while I distract them,”

 

He did not respond. The wizard disappeared. Niles broke out of his daze. 

 

He was...at Odin’s smith?

 

___________

 

“Great Gods, Niles, to think you’d be caught in the clutches of a wizard!”

Niles frowned. “I wouldn’t say caught,”

 

“But the way you describe him, it sounds like nonetheless than the wizard Leo himself!”

 

“Leo?”

 

“He’s famous; making people fall in love with his dastard self  - and then - eating their hearts!”

 

“Wow seems like a nice guy,”

 

“They say he travels in a moving castle castle,”

 

“Don’t worry, Odin,” he laughed, “Nobody’d fall in love with me,” 

 

___________

 

On a change of pace for once, Niles rode the train home. Of course, he still had to walk to his filthy flat, deep in the slums. 

Getting home was a relief but exhaustion. Whatever happened to him today would probably never happen again, but that was good. He would return to his mundane, not so successful life. 

 

Fall in love, huh? What a joke. 

 

There was knocking at his door. What the fuck? Who would knock at his door? He rose to look through the peephole. 

 

He could only make out feathers a strange mask. No way he’s going to open the door. Moving back into his home, the door blew wide open. The strange figure stood there staring at him.

 

“Sorry, but I’m not inviting guests right now,”

 

The man walked inside, his feather cape dragging on the floor. 

 

“This is a cheap place. Your clothes are cheap too. You’re quite cheap yourself.”

 

Niles raised a dagger. “You can leave now,”

 

“My, my. You want to challenge me? You don’t even know who I am.”

 

In an instance, Niles felt a presence going through his body and sucking itself out. It was like a void; he felt cold and bent over. 

 

“You won’t be able to tell anyone about this curse. It’s quite funny. My regards to the wizard Leo. And please do remember my name. The Wizard of the Waste,” 

 

He walked out, the door shutting, and Niles did not move for nearly an hour.

 

The candles had gone out. When he chose to rise, he knew something was off. 

 

His hands? Why were they so…….

 

He rushed to a mirror. It was pure horror that reached him. He was an old man. The only thing he had before was his youth. But now, now…...he could not make a living. He could not….do anything with this life. 

 

He could not stay here.

 

Where could he go?

 

___________

  
  


He arose the next day, through many attempts to get up. The self-pity was eating him up alive. He never even thought he’d live long enough to see himself as an old man. He washed his face and dressed.

 

If he crossed the hills and went to the other town, maybe he could find some work…..There was nothing for an old man here with no family.  Maybe he did like it here a bit but…..who cares if you can’t make a living. 

 

Niles packed a few things and prepared to leave the city. A cart carrying hay was leaving in the same direction and they accepted his offer to ride. 

 

A couple by the edge of the hills warned him not to go out there. That it was nothing more than witches and wizards out there. But who cared? Nothing worse can happen, right?

It was a long trek just up the hills. His body wasn’t what he was used to. He had to stop at many points and sit. And before he knew it, it had grown dark. It was too late to return to the city, too late to stop now. 

 

He noticed a stick of wood branching out from a bush. Couldn’t that make a good cane? 

Not so easy to pull out, huh? He pulled for nearly twenty minutes until the branch finally came out.    
But the stick was some sort of enchanted creature. He sighed. He’d had enough with magic for a lifetime. 

 

He walked away from the creature only to hear it coming back at him. Was it going to attack? He pulled out his dagger (not like it would help in his current state) but the creature was holding a cane.

 

Niles was flabbergasted. No matter how old he got, random acts of kindness always surprised him. He smirked. “How about a warm place to sleep?”

 

The creature, a turnip head on a stick, began to walk away. 

 

Oh well.

 

Ten minutes later, an immense sound like he’d never heard before startled his ears. Creaking and croaking - quite like the sound of a machine, but also breathing. He looked up, and saw a junk heap, lead by the turnip stick.

 

“Wait…..isn’t this Leo’s castle that I’ve been hearing about?! Why would you bring me here?”   
  


Of course, turnip head did not respond.

 

The castle got up and began to move away.  _ If this is my only warm place to sleep tonight. _

 

_ I’m getting on. _

 

Niles began, or tried to, run, after the castle. “The fuck’s wrong with you I’m trying to get in!”

 

Catching hold of the railing, he landed on the doorstep. He took a precautionary peek inside. Seemed okay. 

 

Alright well time to go inside. He waved to his turnip friend and opened the door. 

 

___________

 

Inside, it was more musty and gross than he could have imagined. Spiders and cobwebs were abundant and nothing was organized. Books and pans fell everywhere. Not like he cared, he just though an oh so fancy wizard might be more…..fancy.

 

There was a chair at the fire and he sat down. That felt good. Until the fire began talking to him.

 

“You’ve got a nasty curse on you,”

 

“Oh, so the fire can speak. Great,”

 

“Ch,”

 

“What do you know about it?”

 

“It won’t be easy to break, but I can do it,”

 

“What’s in it for you?”

 

“Well,” the fire began, “do something for me,”

 

“Like?”

 

“Break my contract with Leo! He works me to death,”

 

“Sounds rough,”

 

“Hey, hey, don’t go to sleep! I’m not done talking!”

 

“Oh, I’m sorry Mr. Fire,”

 

“My name’s Brynhildr!”

 

“Ok, goodnight Mr. Brynn whatever,”

 

“Ch. I don’t like this guy,” 

 

___________

**Author's Note:**

> I literally thought of this as I was going to sleep  
> I'm so sorry I haven't been updating my computer died and I only have random other people's computers to use  
> find me on twitter @_blushingprince  
> oh and Iago is the wizard of the waste ahahahaha  
> I know brynhildr isn't a fire tome but I thought it was cute to add that in


End file.
